Do you have older child that is 6 or older? The Monkey Balloon is ideal for ages 2-6 but can also be used for an older child who is learning how to read. If you have an older child, here are 10 ways you can use The Monkey Balloon with your older child.

1. Have your child read the book to you or a younger sibling. If your child is in 1st or 2nd grade, The Monkey Balloon can be excellent practice in increasing reading fluency.

2. Have your child complete one of our writing activities available here.

3. Ask your child to write a story on what happens after The Monkey Balloon ends. This can be an ideal time to practice your child’s writing skills.

4. Ask your child to write a story about when he or she lost their balloon. Emphasize the beginning, middle and end of the story.

5. Have your child discuss the plot and various settings of the story.

6. Read a Monkey Poem such as Monkey Me by C.J. Heck. Discuss new words, words that rhyme, etc.

I recently wrote a post about repeated readings of picture books and the benefits for your child. Research states that repeating readings in a specific way can help improve your child’s language and learning. To see the full post and tips, click here.

How can you encourage language and learning with repeated readings of The Monkey Balloon?

5. Encourage your child to participate. Ask your child to hold the book or help you turn the pages of The Monkey Balloon. Get your child involved with putting the sequencing cards on the Velcro Board.

6. Label specific pictures/objects/action in the book. For example, when reading The Monkey Balloon, say “I see the fish in the ocean”, “I see the girl going down the slide”, etc.

7. Define new vocabulary. Discuss new words! If your child is young, you may have to define certain words. Focus on sight words as well. For a list of the sight words in The Monkey Balloon, click here.

8. Relate the book to a personal experience. Ask your child, “Did you ever lose a balloon?, How did you feel when you lost the balloon?”, “Do you like ice cream? If so, what is your favorite flavor?”

How many times should you read The Monkey Balloon? According to this article written by Trivette, Simkus, Dunst and Homby (2012), they suggest the following guidelines.

1. Read it 4 or 5 times over the course of a few days.

2. Read for 20 minutes or longer if your child is engaged in the story.

]]>http://themonkeyballoon.com/how-repeated-readings-can-benefit-your-child-plus-tips/feed/0Tips on Helping Your Child Retell the Story of The Monkey Balloonhttp://themonkeyballoon.com/tips-on-helping-your-child-retell-the-story-of-the-monkey-balloon/
http://themonkeyballoon.com/tips-on-helping-your-child-retell-the-story-of-the-monkey-balloon/#respondWed, 12 Nov 2014 20:15:13 +0000http://themonkeyballoon.com/?p=866Does your child have strong narrative skills? Does he or she have trouble recalling the sequence of events in a story? Here are some helpful tips for parents that can encourage your child to retell any story, but these are specifically for The Monkey Balloon. Retelling stories is an important part of language development and can improve a child’s comprehension and expressive vocabulary. To check out my post about retelling stories, click here. According to the research, using specific characteristics during reading can help a child recall information about the story.

According to Carl J. Dunst, Andrew Simkus & Deborah W. Hamby (2012), these are the characteristics below that help our children retell a story. I added how to use these characteristics with The Monkey Balloon.

Adult ReadingStory Introduction: Show your child the cover of The Monkey Balloon and ask your child what he or she thinks the book is about.Repeated Readings: Reading The Monkey Balloon several times.Story Review: When you are done reading the book, review the story of The Monkey Balloon (e.g. First Mimi got a balloon, then she lost it, etc)Relatedness: How does the book relate to your child’s own experience? Ask your child, “Did you ever have a balloon you lost?”, “How did that feel?”Prompts child responses: Ask your child to make a comment or ask questions about The Monkey Balloon.Open ended questions: Ask questions that require a more in depth answer such as “How does Mimi feel when she loses the balloon?”, “Where do you think the balloon went?”Asks for Prediction: Ask your child what might happen next as you are reading a book. As you are reading the book, ask your child “What do you think happens next?”Manipulatives: Using props or toys related to the book. Find some appropriate manipulatives at home or make your own!Visual Aids: Using picture sequencing cards or some other visual aid that can help the child retell the story. These will be soon available on our website!

Child’s ReadingAdult Prompting: Prompt your child by asking questions about The Monkey Balloon and using other strategies besides questions. Check out this post for more ideas!Elaborations: Ask your child to elaborate on The Monkey Balloon. “What do you think happens after the story?”Book Access: Let your child hold the book and use the pictures as visual cues to retell you the story.Dramatization: Act the book out! Pretend you are Mimi and you lost the balloon!Visual Aid: The child has access to the picture sequencing cards to help retell the story.Manipulatives: Child is given prompts or toys to help facilitate retelling of the story. Be creative with this!

Carl J. Dunst, Andrew Simkus & Deborah W. Hamby (2012) state that using 5-6 characteristics (in total with combined child and adult reading is optimal). The characteristics that had the most effect were relating the book to the child’s interest, introducing the book, asking open-ended questions and making predictions, using visual aids and prompting child retelling (Carl J. Dunst, Andrew Simkus & Deborah W. Hamby, 2012).

Why did we use silhouettes in our book? It was really our brilliant illustrator who thought of creating Mimi and Papi as a silhouette. When Yuki showed us the original illustration, Mindy and I loved it! We loved it because we thought Mimi could be a character that all children can identify with regardless of their race or culture. We also loved how Mimi and Papi contrasted again the vibrant colors of the book. What I have always found fascinating is that how Mimi’s emotions can be read so easily without the specifics of facial features (e.g. Mimi crying). How did your child react to seeing Mimi’s features at the end of the book? Many children love seeing Mimi at the end which adds to the excitement of her finally getting her balloon back! Encourage your child by engaging in conversation with them and encourage commenting.

What are silhouettes? Silhouettes are pictures of something showing up as a dark shape on a light background. According to dictionary.com, “From 1750-1850, it was least expensive way of creating a portrait. The name comes from Étienne de Silhouette, Louis XV’s finance minister, notorious for his frugality and his hobby of making cut-paper shadow portraits. In 17th-century Europe, shadow portraits and scenes were produced by drawing the outline cast by candlelight or lamplight; when paper became widely available, they were often cut out freehand directly from life.”

Carryover Activity: Create a silhoutte of your child! Draw their profile on black paper and then cut it out. Glue or tape it on a white background and you will have your own silhoutte.

How do you think color affects your mood or your child’s mood?I was always interested in learning how different colors within your environment can affect your mood and perspective. Once I started researching this particular topic, I began to think about how colors in picture books affect a child’s mood or perspective of the story they are reading.

How do you feel when reading a picture book with dark colors? How about a brighter more engaging one?

As a child and now as an adult, I am always attracted by bright and vibrant colors within a picture book. It captivates my attention and makes me feel happy. I wanted to review the basic color theory by Kandinsky and discuss how different colors can represent a particular feeling or mood. Wassily Kandinsky was a famous Russian painter and art theorist who developed the Color Theory in 1911.

So what does the color theory have to do with The Monkey Balloon? I think a lot! When creating the story for The Monkey Balloon, Mindy, Yuki, and I wanted to use bright and colorful illustrations that would captivate a child’s attention without being over-stimulating. We wanted a book that uplifted a child’s spirits and sparked their imagination. Can color do this? I think so! With a combination of color and writing, a story with the right combination of colors can become a beautiful journey for a child. The Monkey Balloon has many colors, but its most prominent colors are blue, green, yellow and red which can help a child exhibit feelings of warmness, nature and being alive. The contrast of the silhouette of Mimi and Papi makes the colors even more vibrant. Why did we make Mimi a silhouette? Find out in our next blog post!

]]>http://themonkeyballoon.com/how-does-color-affect-your-childs-mood/feed/0Do you ask your child lots of questions when reading a book? Here are some tips!http://themonkeyballoon.com/do-you-ask-your-child-lots-of-questions-when-reading-a-book-here-are-some-tips/
http://themonkeyballoon.com/do-you-ask-your-child-lots-of-questions-when-reading-a-book-here-are-some-tips/#commentsTue, 16 Sep 2014 00:40:25 +0000http://themonkeyballoon.com/?p=832Do you ask your child a lot of questions when reading a book? Try these different prompts!

What is a prompt? According to the dictionary, a prompt means “assist or encourage (a hesitating speaker) to say something.” Constantly asking the same types of “wh” questions can feel repetitive and overwhelming to a child. Asking the same types of questions can also be a passive activity which can decrease engagement in the story and make the child feel unsuccessful if they answer the questions wrong. Four out of five of these prompts written below are taken from an article I wrote on my blog about the best reading method for your child. To read more about the best reading method for your child, click here.

In this post, I am going to give you some different strategies to use when trying to get your child to engage in the story. These prompts originally written by Grover Whitehurst will also help your child to answer questions correctly, comment and engage in the story in a more constructive way. These strategies are prompts that I use when reading to my own children and during speech and language therapy. There are many other strategies out there, but these are ones that I use a consistent basis.

1. Giving Choices (this one is not included as part of Grover Whitehurst article): As you are reading The Monkey Balloon, give your child choices. For example, ask “Where is Mimi now? Is she at the ocean or the playground?”.2. Completion prompts. As you are reading The Monkey Balloon, use a fill in the prompt such as “The Monkey Balloon found his friends at the _________.” If your child has difficulty with that, give choices (prompt above)3. Recall prompts: These prompts are geared towards asking questions about what occurred in the book. Ask your child “Where did The Monkey Balloon go on her adventures with Papi?” If your child needs some help, use some choices or fill in the blank prompts.4. “Wh” prompts: These prompts are the types of prompts that we are most familiar with. These are asking your child “wh” questions such as “Who,” “What,” “Where,” “When,” “Why” and “How”. These prompts can be excellent prompts especially when combined with other prompts.5. Distance prompts: Distance prompts are prompts that relate the story to something outside the book (e.g. an event, place, person, etc.). For example, to use a distance prompt when reading The Monkey Balloon, ask your child to recall the last time they lost a balloon. Discuss where it might have gone. If your child can’t remember the last time they lost a balloon, discuss some of the scenes such as a playground, bus, or ice cream store. Most children can tell you something about the last time they were getting ice cream or playing at the playground.6. Open ended prompts: Ask your child open ended questions. These questions are designed to be more open, and many answers may be correct depending on the question. For an example, an open ended question would be “What is Mimi going to do with the Monkey Balloon when she gets it back from Papi?”

]]>http://themonkeyballoon.com/do-you-ask-your-child-lots-of-questions-when-reading-a-book-here-are-some-tips/feed/1Read with Expression! It Makes a Difference!http://themonkeyballoon.com/read-with-expression-it-makes-a-difference/
http://themonkeyballoon.com/read-with-expression-it-makes-a-difference/#respondFri, 22 Aug 2014 10:56:21 +0000http://themonkeyballoon.com/?p=772Do you read with expression to your child?

Have you ever been to a story time where the person reading the story has barely any expression and you find your child not engaged in the story?

Reading with expression and emotion can make a significant difference in your child’s ability to comprehend and recall information during book reading time. Since many preschoolers are not literate yet, they rely heavily on listening to stories being read to them. I think as parents, most of us naturally use our voices with varying pitch, pauses, and loudness to emphasize certain concepts and feelings of characters in the story. However, being aware of it and knowing that you are doing something good for your child while doing it is another thing! To read more about reading expression and to see the research study, check out my post here.

Here are some helpful tips in how to read with expression when reading The Monkey Balloon:

1. Emphasize punctuation markers such as exclamation marks, question marks, etc. For example when reading the line, “Maybe the Monkey Balloon is going down the slide!” emphasize the exclamation mark.

2. Use intonation to correlate with the characters emotions (e.g. when Mimi loses her balloon, use a voice that indicates that specific feeling if losing a balloon)

3. As you are reading, pay attention to how your child is reacting when your voice changes according to the emotion of the character. Ask questions, encourage comments and get your child involved by asking “How does Mimi feel when she loses her balloon?”

4. Point out the difference between a question mark and an exclamation mark. Model how you use your voice differently when reading the different punctuation markers. For tips on how to use print referencing when reading The Monkey Balloon, click here.

5. Use body language when reading the book. For example, when reading about the school bus, use your arms to pretend like you are driving the bus.

For children who are language delayed:

Make the book come to life specifically with toddlers and children with language delays. Give one picture on each page a sound. Whether it’s the ice cream cone going “drip drip” or the bus going “beep beep”. You may feel “silly” but that means you are doing it right! For more tips on language and learning with The Monkey Balloon, click here.

Have fun and encourage your child to be the storyteller! To each how your child to be the storyteller, stay tuned for our next blog post about dialogic reading!

]]>http://themonkeyballoon.com/read-with-expression-it-makes-a-difference/feed/0Tips on how to use Print Referencing with The Monkey Balloonhttp://themonkeyballoon.com/tips-on-how-to-use-print-referencing-with-the-monkey-balloon/
http://themonkeyballoon.com/tips-on-how-to-use-print-referencing-with-the-monkey-balloon/#respondSat, 09 Aug 2014 12:07:07 +0000http://themonkeyballoon.com/?p=725Do you want to help your child learn print? Use print referencing strategies when reading The Monkey Balloon!

I recently wrote an article about print referencing and the effect it has on your child when reading aloud. According to research, young children spend less than 6% of read aloud time looking at print unless an adult deliberately highlights print for them (Williams & Pursoo, 2008). According to Justice et al., 2008, “When preschool age children are read with a print referencing style every day for 10 minutes they may fixate on print 20,000 times more often than children who are read to in a way that does not draw attention to print.” I found this fact amazing! 20,000 is very significant!

What is a print referencing style? The technique in which the adult uses verbal and nonverbal references to print when reading aloud to a child (Justice & Ezell, 2000, 2002; Lovelace & Stewart, 2007). The goal of using this style is to orient and improve print awareness. This can mean showing your child directionality (showing them the words read left to right), pointing out the title, etc. To read more about print referencing, check out my post here.

Here are some tips on how to use print referencing with The Monkey Balloon:

1. Show your child the title “The Monkey Balloon”. Ask them to point to the title and have them point to each word as you say it aloud. Ask your child “What word is the longest?”

2. Ask your child where the authors names are. Have them find the names on the balloons. Point out what letter each of our names start with.

3. Show your child the illustrator’s name. Define the word illustrator and use the word the next time your child creates a picture. Ask your child to find the name beginning with Y (for “Yuki”).

4. On the dedication page, ask your child to point out the names on the balloons. For extra language tips, point out the colors and ask your child to find “the yellow balloon”. Play a game! Ask your child, “Can you find the name, “Gracie?”. Take turns and have fun with it!

5. Ask your child to count how many names that you can find on the balloons.

6. Show your child the cover, spine and back of the book. Ask your child to show you the “back cover”, “front cover”, etc.

7. When reading the book, ask your child to find the name “Mimi”. Write the words “Mimi” and “Papi” on a piece of paper. Talk about the differences between the names and why they sound different. How are they the same?

8. When reading the story to your child, point out specific words related to the book such as “balloon”, “monkey”, “Mimi”, “Papi” and some core words such as “is”, “was”, etc. These words are wonderful to practice because your child will learn them in school as part of the core curriculum.

9. As you are reading, point out how the words read left to right (directionality).

10. Point out the upper case and the lower case letters in the sentences as you read them.

I hope you find these tips helpful. Please comment and send some tips of your own!